Back-to-School Party

July 23, 2008---We had the honor of attending the 6th Annual Koehler Family Back-to-School Party. This was our first year to attend since this is the first year one of my children will be entering "big school". The highlight of the party was a scavenger hunt. It was a very interesting party idea--similar to an Easter egg hunt but rather than hiding eggs and putting them in a basket, school supplies were hidden and each child brought their backpack to fill with goodies. Each family brought a designated number of school necessities to be scattered across the lawn and hidden in the landscaping. You would have thought they were searching for $100 bills the way all of the kids were running. Anna Catherine and Jackson racked up on supplies. Afterwards everyone enjoyed a picnic lunch of grilled hot dogs, beautiful edible fruit arrangements (made by the Koehler girls), and a variety of chips, sweets, and drinks. The weather was as nice as you could ask for in Mississippi in July--not too hot (meaning mid-90s) and slightly overcast. We had a great time!!








34 children participated:









going into preschool:









going into kindergarten:







getting instructions from Dr. Kevin:







Jackson on the search:







Anna Catherine adding to her bounty:




Jackson enjoying his sweets:




Mabry and Anna Catherine:

two down, eighteen to go

July 17, 2008---We are anxiously awaiting another visit from the Tooth Fairy tonight! Anna Catherine has lost her second baby tooth. This tooth had been loose for almost two months. She never wanted to touch it or wiggle it. I've been telling her for weeks that if she would just wiggle it four times it would come out. She refused to listen. I even made that statement this morning. Well, it finally happened during nap time. She wiggled the tooth and it essentially leaped from her mouth. She was sooooo excited.

The Ride of Your Life

The Ride of Your Life by George Carlin

Enjoy the ride; There is no return ticket

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. 'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key. You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. 'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life ! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed? You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would! So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and make it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4 :30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again 'I'm 100 and a half!' May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3.Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Where has the summer gone?

Where has the summer gone? We are at the half-way point for July and school starts in three weeks! We have been busy with the garden and yard work, vacation bible schools, gymnastics classes, play dates (for the children and parents), and home improvement projects. There's just not enough time to get everything done. We've had to scratch a few plans because we can't fit everything into our schedule. Whatever happened to the lazy days of summer? I can't remember the last time I had a "lazy day".

Our home improvement projects have not been major but very time consuming when you're trying to take care of three kids while working. We took down Chloe's baby bed and moved Jackson's toddler bed into her room. She hates it! Screams for an hour at bedtime. It gets a little better each day but it is still frustrating. We tried closing her bedroom door so she couldn't leave the room if she got out of the bed. Well...she mastered opening the door the first day. So, we but up a baby gate. She pushed her baby doll's high chair up to the gate, climbed on top of it, and was in the process of climbing over the gate when I stopped her. Last night she tackled the gate and it crashed to the floor. That little toot!! I don't know what we're going to do. I didn't have time to paint the girls' room before moving the beds but hope to do it before Christmas. I was able to paint one of the bathrooms and hung curtains in both. I also painted Jackson's room before moving bunk beds into it. The bottom is a full bed and the top is a twin. He absolutely loves his "big boy" bed. He doesn't have as much floor space to play but he doesn't seem to mind.











Busy, busy, busy...when does life slow down? I don't think it does.

Davis Lake

June 28, 2008---Rick decided to take the family to Davis Lake Saturday morning. It is a small lake between Pontotoc and Houston (a 35 minute drive from our house). We arrived around 9:45 a.m. and it was not crowded at all. We essentially had the shallow end of the swimming area all to ourselves. Anna Catherine, Jackson, and Rick enjoyed swimming/playing in the water. Chloe hated the water so she sat on the bank with Mommy. She loved wearing Anna Catherine's goggles (looks a little like Michael Keaton in Multiplicity--haha). Chloe looks sunburned in the picture but she's not. Not really sure what was going on there. Jackson played in the water with his small elephant and water dinosaur. We can't go anywhere without a few animals tagging along. The kids played on the playground and tossed the football as well. We also took a tricycle, scooter, and push/ride toy for them to use on the sidewalks. After a picnic lunch we headed home around 1 p.m., which was great because it was starting to get hot and crowded. Although we weren't there for a long period of time (we had plans later in the day), the kids had a great time and slept the entire way home.

Gumtree Ball 2008

June 21, 2008---Rick and Anna Catherine attended the Gumtree Ball in Tupelo tonight. It is a father/daughter dance held to benefit Le Bonheur Children's Hospital. Along with dinner and dancing, there was also an arts and crafts station, carriage rides, a silent auction, and a "fashion model" station in which the girls added make-up, glitter, and feather boas to their ensembles and strutted their stuff on the catwalk. The night was spent hobnobbing with celebrities such as Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, Barbie, Raggedy Anne, Fairy Godmother, Mickey Mouse, Mary Poppins, and Dorothy with Toto. Anna Catherine also met Kasey Wilder, Miss Teen Mississippi(who is from Pontotoc) and Molly Anna Baulch, Miss Teen Magnolia State. Each girl was given an autograph book to fill with signatures. Rick said there had to be at least two hundred daddies plus their daughters. Anna Catherine's favorite part of the night was doing the "Cha Cha" dance. They both had a wonderful time. WTVA news aired footage of the event on their ten o'clock show and Rick was in the background.





with Snow White:



with Barbie:



with Belle:

A.J.'s First Birthday

Wednesday June 18, 2008---My beautiful, loving, adorable niece, AvaJo "A.J." Marie Dowdy, turned one year old today. She is so sweet. Her curly dark hair and pretty blue eyes just make your heart melt. He always wants to give hugs and kisses, but she usually takes Chloe down in the process. They love to play with each other but do get jealous often. A.J. and Chloe are so cute together.

Her party was held last Saturday at a park in New Albany. Adam cooked burgers and dogs on the grill. The kids played on the playground and went for "hikes". It had rained earlier in the day so the kids were nice and muddy. A.J. wasn't too fond of her cake. In one picture you can see that she is trying to throw it off her high chair. She did enjoy opening presents and she received a lot of nice things.